Guess Who Thought Australia's Data Retention Laws Were A Good Idea? China

Human Rights Watch is calling out a Cybersecurity Law about to be passed by the Chinese government as a "regressive measure that strengthens censorship, surveillance, and other controls over the Internet." The new law demands companies to require users to provide their real name and personal information, which will then be retained.

Data retention has been in force in Australia since October last year. Telecommunications providers are required to store customer data for a minimum of two years for access by "registered and sanctioned agencies" without a warrant. Personal details, records of the IP addresses and details websites visited are among what is believed to be retained (we still don't know for sure).

More Stories on Data Retention

With this new law in China, the the Human Rights Watch report reveals companies will also have to monitor and report to the government undefined "network security incidents," as well as provide undefined "technical support" to security agencies to aid in investigations, raising fears of increased surveillance.

Network operators will have to hold on to network logs for at least six months and "accept government supervision"

Now while many of these measures are not new, most were previously only informally applied or defined in lower-level regulation, Human Rights Watch says.

"Elevating these powers in the Cybersecurity Law sends a signal that the government may enforce the requirements more strictly, leaving less leeway for tech companies to avoid implementation".

Trending Stories Right Now

The OnePlus 6 might be the most boring phone the company has ever made. Don't get me wrong, that's not meant as an insult, but more as a reflection on how far the company has come since the original OnePlus One. Because even though OnePlus' latest device might not carry with it the same excitement as some of the company's previous phones, as a total package, the OP6 is arguably even more important in today's world of $1000+ handsets. Oh and it's also OnePlus' best phone yet.

That's one small hole for a probe, but one giant leap for NASA. This past weekend, the space agency jerry-rigged Curiosity's malfunctioning drill, allowing the rover to bore into Martian rock for the first time in over a year.